Dog Chases Zombies From Boy's Dreams

Malcolm, a 2-year-old rescue mutt, works the night shift scaring away zombies and any nightmares that creep into his owner's dreams.

The dog has been a constant bedtime companion for Sawyer Thompson, 12, whose family adopted Malcolm two years ago.

Before Malcolm, as soon as the lights went off, the Dallas boy suffered from sleepless nights, filled with zombies and other unsavory characters, his mother said.

"We would tell him zombies don't really exist, but as soon as the lights went out he was very nervous," said his mother, Dawn McMullan. "We didn't sleep very well then."

The job of zombie protector fell to Sawyer's big brother, who slept in a trundle bed next to him, but his mother began to search for a long-term solution that would make the whole family's nights much easier.

"Sawyer said he needed a dog that was big enough to scare zombies but small enough to sleep with him," she said.

Malcolm, who now weighs 55 pounds and has some pit bull in his blood, was the perfect pooch for the job, she said.

The family noticed a difference right away.

"I was scared of stuff and it just helped having him there," Sawyer said. "I sleep a lot better now."